The right of oblivion (le droit a l’oubli) has a distinctly French air, perhaps more reminiscent of existentialist philosophy than of legal codes. That right, though, is enshrined in French law, providing convicted criminals...more

In May 2014, we reported on the implications of the landmark decision in Google Spain which recognises the right for individuals to have links about themselves de-listed from search results. In response to the complaints...more

The fallout from a massive cyber attack on Sony in November escalated tremendously this week. After exposing embarrassing emails and confidential company information, stealing the screenplay for an upcoming James Bond movie,...more

The European Court of Justice, in a decision rendered on May 13, 2014, held that search engines are considered data controllers under the Directive of October 24, 1995 on data protection, and as such they must provide data...more

Since Google, a web search engine provider, became a multi-billion dollar company, it has steadfastly refused to remove internet search results on a discretionary basis. In fact, Google support expressly provides that...more

A recent court ruling in Europe will present new challenges to online corporations such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Not only will this directly affect their operations in the E.U., but it will also have implications...more

In an earlier blog post, Patrick Van Eecke and Anthony Cornette discussed the impact of the ECJ Case C-131/12. The authors now provide some further insight on the latest developments relating to the ECJ case on the ‘Right to...more

In its newly published Fact Sheet on the Right to Be Forgotten, the European Commission has tried to dampen the negative reaction to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Right to Be Forgotten decision by noting that the right...more

The European Court of Justice’s decision in the Google Spain “right to be forgotten” case isn’t just a ruling about a crazy European regulation. Commentators who brush it off on that basis, or as an anti-free-speech...more

On May 13, 2014, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a judgment in Google vs. AEPD (C-131/12, hereinafter “Google Decision”) based on the EU Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC, the “Directive”). In the...more

(LONDON) Google – along with the rest of us – is still considering the implications of the European Court of Justice’s May 13, 2014 decision that Google must remove links to a newspaper article containing properly published...more

In a decision with far-reaching consequences, the European Court of Justice (located in Luxembourg) (“ECJ”) ruled on May 13, 2014, that E.U. citizens can demand that search engines – in this instance Google – must delete...more

On May 13, the European Court of Justice held that an internet search operator is responsible for the processing of personal data that appear on web pages published by third parties, and that an individual has a right to ask...more

While the popular press has been full of stories about the European Court of Justice’s (“ECJ”) ruling creating a “right to be forgotten” (ahead of the still pending Data Protection Regulation), we will focus on both the...more

The privacy of individuals has always been taken much more seriously in Europe than in the United States. In Europe, privacy is deemed a fundamental human right and has long been protected through extensive regulations. The...more

Court defines its territorial reach and obliges Google to remove “old” unwanted personal data from web search results -
In a landmark ruling on 13 May 2014,1 the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”), the...more

Today’s decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that individuals enjoy the right to have truthful yet unflattering information about them “forgotten” from online search results is generating a great deal of...more

In 2004, the Chinese Communist Party announced a new national goal of building a “Harmonious Society.” Since then, this goal has often been cited by the Chinese government as a reason for Internet censorship. In Mandarin,...more

The Issues Concerning the Legitimacy of the Regulations -
At the end of a process started in 2010, after three public consultations on an equal number of proposals, on December 12, 2012 AGCOM (i.e. the Italian...more